Early Phase 1 semaglutide GLP-1 receptor agonist neoadjuvant metabolic therapy before prostatectomy

Banner Health’s single-arm, open-label exploratory early phase 1 study tests whether preoperative semaglutide can drive measurable biologic changes in intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer during a 3–6 month “window” before planned radical prostatectomy. Participants receive once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide, dose-titrated per the FDA-approved chronic weight-management label, and stop drug 1 week before surgery; the primary focus is tumor biologic activity, with additional safety/tolerability and physiologic/metabolic readouts. Semaglutide (Novo Nordisk) is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that reduces appetite and improves insulin sensitivity via incretin signaling; the scientific angle is repurposing a widely used metabolic drug to probe cancer–metabolism links using paired pre/post surgical specimens. The eligible population is men with intermediate-risk, localized disease planning prostatectomy. Today’s care for intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer is definitive local therapy—radical prostatectomy or radiation (often with short-course androgen-deprivation therapy depending on risk features)—rather than systemic metabolic agents.